The 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2003-04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2004 National Title Game was played on April 5, 2004 at the

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, The 2004 National Title Game was played between the 2004 Phoenix Regional Champions, #2-seeded

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and the 2004 St. Louis Regional Champions, #3-seeded

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. Connecticut and Georgia Tech met in the semifinals of the 2003 NIT Season Tip-Off and Georgia Tech upset #1-ranked Connecticut with a 77–61 win on their way to winning the 2003 NIT Season Tip-Off.

Participants

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech entered the 2004 NCAA tournament as the #3 seed in the St. Louis regional. In the 1st round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, Georgia Tech survived a scare against

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

when Ben Jacobson missed a game-tying 3-pointer as Georgia Tech was able to pull away with a 65–60 win. In the 2nd round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament,

Jarrett Jack Jarrett Matthew Jack (born October 28, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended four high schools in No ...

made a breakaway dunk with less than six seconds left to hold off

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

with a 57–54 victory. In the Sweet 16, Marvin Lewis scored 23 points to lead Georgia Tech to a 72–67 victory over

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

to advance to the Elite Eight. In the Elite Eight,

scored 29 points to lead Georgia Tech to a 79–71 overtime victory over

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

to advance to the 2004 Final Four. In the 2004 Final Four,

Will Bynum William Bynum (born January 4, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Arizona and Georgia Tech before going undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft. He was the 2007 Israeli Basketbal ...

made a last second shot to give Georgia Tech a 67–65 victory over

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and a trip to the 2004 National Title Game.

Connecticut

Connecticut entered the 2004 NCAA tournament as the #2 seed in the Phoenix Regional. In the 1st round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament,

Emeka Okafor Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi "Emeka" Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut, where in 2004 he won a national champ ...

had a double double with 15 points and 14 rebounds and he was able to limit the nations third-leading scorer

Taylor Coppenrath Taylor Burton Coppenrath (born November 8, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life Coppenrath went to high school at St. Johnsbury Academy where he did not play for the varsity basketball team until his junior year. ...

to 12 points as Connecticut beat

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

70–53. In the 2nd round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, Connecticut was able to beat DePaul 72-55 despite their coach

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is a longtime college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( 1999, ...

having an upset stomach. In the Sweet 16,

Ben Gordon Benjamin Ashenafi Gordon (born April 4, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Gordon played for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and he played college basketball for the University of Connecticut, ...

scored 20 points to lead Connecticut to a 73–53 victory over Vanderbilt. In the Elite Eight,

only scored two points due to a tweaked shoulder but

's 36 points and

Rashad Anderson Rashad Shaheed Anderson (born November 9, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Connecticut. Early life Rashad's first interest was baseball. His cousin introduced him ...

's 28 points led Connecticut to an 87–71 victory over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

for a trip to the 2004 Final Four. In the 2004 Final Four,

scored all 18 of his points in the 2nd half as he led Connecticut to a 12–0 run, down 75–67 with less than three minutes remaining, to beat

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

79-78 and advance to the 2004 National Title Game making their 1st title game appearance since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Starting lineups

Game summary

and

go hot in the 1st half. Ben Gordon hit three three-pointers in the 1st ten minutes while Emeka Okafor dominated Georgia Tech center

Luke Schenscher Luke Dean Schenscher (born 31 December 1982) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played four years of college basketball for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball, Georgia Tech before having stints in the National B ...

in the lane. Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon nearly outscored Georgia Tech in the 1st half scoring 24 points combined in the 1st half while Georgia Tech scored 26 points in the 1st half as Connecticut was ahead 41–26 at halftime. Georgia Tech could not take advantage of Ben Gordon being on the bench after his 2nd foul. In fact, Connecticut was able to extend their lead with Ben Gordon on the bench. Connecticut was able to build a 25-point lead at one point. When Connecticut backed off and slowed the game down, Georgia Tech was able to make a furious rally to cut it to a seven-point deficit. Connecticut was able to hold off Georgia Tech and with 24 points and 15 rebounds from Emeka Okafor and 21 points from Ben Gordon, as Connecticut beat Georgia Tech 82–73.

Aftermath

Thousands of people in Connecticut celebrated after Connecticut's victory in the men's National Championship Game. 35 people were arrested by the police for starting fires and overturning cars in celebration of Connecticut's second men's and fifth women's national championships. The university police reported that a dozen of fires were set outside and two cars were overturned at the Celeron Square apartment complex about a mile month of campus following Connecticut's victory over Georgia Tech. Connecticut became the first school ever in Division I to win NCAA titles in men's and women's basketball in the same season. The Huskies would repeat this feat in 2014.

References

{{2004 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games UConn Huskies men's basketball Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball College basketball tournaments in Texas Basketball competitions in San Antonio NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game 21st century in San Antonio